Posts Tagged ‘Eli Manning’

– The Lions and Browns should just play each other the rest of the year, that way each team can feel good about their squads, and the fans can be treated to an entertaining game.

– The Browns are still the worst team in the NFL this year. That won’t change.

– The Patriots will be the most dangerous team in the playoffs this year. Maybe not the best, but with the experience and coaching, definitely the most dangerous.

– The Jaguars are now 6-4. Holy crap. I doubt most people outside of Jacksonville even know who’s on this team expect for David Garrard and Maurice Jones Drew.

– Just when you think the Bengals are for real, they choke in the last minute against the Raiders, allowing 10 points in the last minute (!!) of the game and losing 20-17. Few teams could pull that kind of feat off, one of them is unfortunately the Bengals. Anyone remember Week 1 against the Broncos? Bengals are still in the driver’s seat for the AFC North crown, but it’s not a lock yet (would’ve been with a win yesterday).

– There’s either something wrong physically with Jay Cutler or something wrong mentally. Take your pick, but he had a flat out bad game against the Eagles, missing 3 wide open WR’s that would’ve all gone for TD’s. Not the kind of performance you want from a QB you just traded two 1st round picks for.

– Broncos are officially in trouble. I didn’t think they would fold like the Jets last year. I was wrong. I’d actually be shocked if they make the playoffs at this point, with remaining games against the Giants, Colts and Eagles. They’ll have to win at least 1 of those games and beat the Raiders, and Chiefs twice to get in.

– Eli Manning actually had a good game. I’m sure the media will let you know.

– Favre is still playing at a high level (4 TD’s Sunday) unlike last season when his play took a nosedive with the Jets. I’ll say it for the hundredth time, the Vikes will only go as far as Favre goes.

– The Dolphins are still very alive for the one of the Wildcard spots after beating the Panthers. Carolina is pretty much out at this point.

– The Cowboys offense is now the weak link of their team. That and Wade Philips. They’ve scored something like 2 TD’s in two games.

Other Observations

– The Steelers have now allowed in 8 straight games a return for a TD. That’s a new NFL record. That’s a big reason the team is 6-4 right now and a big reason the Chiefs beat them yesterday. That all points back to the questionable coaching on the Steelers team right now. The Steelers are still one of the most talented teams in the NFL right now but without the proper coaching any team can lose to anyone in this league.

– I used to think that Ravens coach Cam Cameron was one of the better offensive coordinators in the league. Not so sure after watching the Ravens this year and most notably yesterday against the Colts. It seemed like every 1st down the Ravens were running the ball directly up the gut against the Colts. Yes, the Colts run defense is suspect, but when they know you’re going to run it, the run game will not be as effective. Whenver Flacco was throwing the ball it seemed like it was all deep outs, that’s a pretty tough pass to complete over and over again. The Ravens offense couldn’t score a TD all game and the final game-deciding INT by Joe Flacco was a result of Cameron calling the same play he had called earlier in the game and the Colts recognizing it.

Bad Coaching Decision of the Week – With the game tied 24-24 in OT, the Steelers face a 3rd and 2 at the Kansas City 35 yard line. Getting at least a yard or even no yards would allow for a long FG attempt. What does head coach Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator call Bruce Arians call in this situation? A slow developing pitch play to Mewelde Moore, the slowest running back on the team. Recieving the pitch literally 7 yards behind the line of scrimmage, he stands no chance and is tackled for a 3 yard loss. Just a horrible, horrible call. The Steelers can’t even line up for a FG attempt and have to punt the ball. The Chiefs score on the ensuing drive and shock the Steelers in OT.

Horrible Officiating Watch – Basically, it’s the Ron Winters officiating crew watch. Winters and his crew did just a horrible job in the Broncos-Chargers game with tons of questionable officiating calls all game long. I won’t do a run down of the calls, but anyone that saw this game knows exactly what I’m talking about.

Kerry Collins may never start another game as an NFL QB. Constantly under the radar during his career, he’s had a pretty good run as an NFL QB, better than most, that’s for sure.

The Jags aren’t going anywhere with David Garrard at QB. Great back up QB, not a great starting NFL QB.

The Browns are doing their best to be the worst team in the NFL. With the Bucs on a bye week and the Rams winning, the Browns are really flying high right now in the “worst team in the NFL” spot.

Brett Favre may actually lead the Vikes to the SB. I didn’t believe it, but he looked great against the Packers. Still, we’re only halfway through the season.

The Giants are in trouble.

The 49ers have a lot of heart.

Jets fans learned the hard way that special team blunders can cost you a win, even when your team is outgaining the other team by an almost 4 to 1 margin. The Dolphins had only 100 yards of offense!

Carolina and Arizona are two of the hardest teams to figure out.

Other Observations

Jets head coach Rex Ryan reminds me of a coach from the 80’s, sort of outspoken and perhaps over aggressive to a fault. In their loss to the Dolphins yesterday, the Jets attempted two 2 point conversions when it wasn’t necessary at all. Neither attempt was successful, If the Jets had just kicked the point after on both scores that game is 27-30 at the end of the game instead of 25-30. In other words, the Jets at least go into OT. The Jets had almost 400 yards of offense to just 100 for the Dolphins. No way should the Jets have lost that game. Part of that goes on coaching.

Not to beat a dead horse BUT Eli Manning continues to look like an average at best NFL QB. In his last three games, all losses, he has 3 TD’s, 6 INT’s, is averaging around a 50% completion percentage and his QB ratings are 45, 51 and 51 in those 3 games. Just awful. Meanwhile, the Giants, in an effort to improve their pass defense, forgot to cover the run against the Eagles. RB LeSeanMcCoy averaged 7.5 yards a carry and FB Leonard Weaver averaged 9 yards a carry and the Giants secondary still looked horrible. The Giants could be in serious trouble with a remaining schedule that includes the Chargers, Falcons, Cowboys, Denver, Minnesota, and Philly (again). That’s a painful looking schedule, especially with the way the Giants are playing right now.

A team constantly under the radar is the Houston Texans who had a fairly impressive 31-10 win against the Bills in Buffalo. Matt Schaub is having a Pro Bowl year, they have one of the better offenses in the NFL and the defense continues to slowly improve. With a 5-3 record and a remaining schedule that includes the Jags, Titans, Seahawks, Rams and Dolphins, the Texans could end up getting into the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. It’s there’s for the taking. I’m thinking the #6 seed. It’d be pretty neat to see that happen.

The Broncos were knocked out of the ranks of the unbeaten in their loss to the Ravens. How did it happen? Offensive ineptitude. You have to give credit to the Ravens defense of course, but the Broncos offense only had 200 yards of offense and they just don’t put up a lot of points and it will probably stay like that for the whole year. A lof of pressure rides on their defense to play great. Their D wilted in the second half against the Ravens offense, but a lot of that was due to the Broncos offense not able to sustain any drives. Broncos defense remains 1st in the league in yards allowed and while the Broncos offense is 14th in yards, they are only 20th in points scored.

1. New Orleans Saints – THE GOOD – Same as last week, pretty much everything at this point. The defense still gives up points, but the offense once again is out running it. THE BAD – Still question marks about the defense and this team playing in cold weather stadiums later in the season. Brees had 3 INT’s against the Dolphins, which could be a sign that teams are starting to see how to defend the Saints passing attack. CONTENDER? Oh yes.

2. Indianapolis Colts – THE GOOD – Same as last week, pretty much everything, although the defense has some question marks. THE BAD – Once again, A LOT rides on Peyton Manning, if he plays poorly or even at a level below what’s he currently playing at this team will probably lose, especially to the better teams in the league. CONTENDER? Yep.

3. Minnesota Vikings – THE GOOD – The Vikes actually leap frog over the Steelers, even though they lost to them. Why? They outplayed, outcoached and outgained the Steelers at Heinz Field. If not for a couple bad breaks they win that game. Favre is looking good, defense is looking tough. THE BAD – Secondary still has some big question marks, the Vikes run defense got gashed by the Steelers running game for a lot of 10+ yard runs. CONTENDER? Yep.

4. Pittsburgh Steelers – THE GOOD – The Steelers are still ranked high in most offensive and defensive categories. The Steelers showed against the Vikes that they’ll be very hard to run against. The offense is loaded with talent. THE BAD – Defense still hasn’t been as dominant as last year, even with their 2 TD’s against the Vikes, they allowed almost 400 yards of offense at home. Secondary needs to play better in pass coverage. Coaching staff is suspect at times. CONTENDER? Yep.

5. Denver Broncos – THE GOOD – With their bye, same as last week, coaching staff is doing a great job (so far), D-line is looking like one of the best in the league, which will do wonders for the rest of the defense. THE BAD – Bronco’s offense gets the job done, but barely. It sure doesn’t scare anyone. CONTENDER? Probably, but get back to me in a few weeks after they’ve played the Ravens, Steelers and Chargers.

6. New England Patriots – THE GOOD – The offense is gelling, the defense is looking better and better. THE BAD – With two dominating wins over teams in disarray (Titans, Bucs) it’s easy to get real high on this team right now. Still question marks about the defense and running game. CONTENDER? It’s looking like it, but we’ll see once they start playing better competition. Nov. 15 in Indy looks like a good start.

7. Arizona Cardinals – THE GOOD – The Cards shoot up out of nowhere to the #7 spot with their impressive win over the Giants in NY. The Cardinals defense is playing better. Offense can be dangerous. THE BAD – Defense still has some big question marks. Kurt Warner is starting to show his age. Offense has the worst pass to run ratio in the NFL, which is usually never a good thing. CONTENDER? Doubtful, this team could easily drop out of the rankings. Of course that was the case last year as well and looked what happened.

8. New York Giants – THE GOOD – The Giants can still run the ball, D-line still has some ferocious pass rushers. THE BAD – Eli Manning seems to struggle more often than not when the weight of the offense is put on him. Secondary is starting to look very shaky. CONTENDER? Looked like it a couple weeks ago, now not so sure.

9. Cincinnati Bengals – THE GOOD – One of Cincy’s more impressive wins in recent memory this past weekend against the Bears. Believe or not but the Bengals have the leading rusher right now (Cedric Benson), defense is better than it’s been in years. Carson Palmer has been solid leading a safer, more ball-control offense. THE BAD – Just how good is their defense? It’s only ranked 20th in yards and near the bottom against the pass. Offense doesn’t put up a ton of points. CONTENDER? Probably not.

10. Green Bay Packers – THE GOOD – Aaron Rodgers continues to play at an elite level. Defense continues to improve with aggressive new 3-4 defensive scheme, currently ranked 3rd in yards allowed. THE BAD – O-line still has question marks in pass protection and run blocking. Run defense still needs a little bit more improvement. CONTENDER? Could be, we’ll have a better idea next week against the Vikes in a huge divisional game.